ALEX EALA — WTATENNIS.COM

FOR someone who had fantasized hitting strokes on the famous grass courts of the All England Club as a child, competing in Wimbledon is a dream come true for Alexandra “Alex” Eala.

So it’s no surprise that the Filipina breakout star is overflowing with excitement as she finally plunges into action in the prestigious grand slam for the first time on Tuesday.

And the 20-year-old Eala couldn’t have gotten a better backdrop for her red-letter Wimbledon debut — on Centre Court, against the reigning titlist herself, No. 16 Czech Barbara Krejcíková.

“I’m going up against the defending champion… excited to see how that turns out,” Ms. Eala, now ranked 56th in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, told the media in Wimbledon.

“It’s a privilege to play on Centre Court. That is the court to be on. Wimbledon is my favorite slam. When I had big dreams as a young girl, they were always on that court. So I’m living the dream.”

Ms. Eala arrived in Wimbledon on Sunday on the heels of her history-making run in the Lexus Eastbourne Open, where she reached the final but yielded a 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10) loss to Australian Maya Joint.

She’s quickly leaving that finals heartbreaker behind as she aims the upset axe on world No. 16 Krejcíková in the vein of her previous massive takedown of grand slam champs Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open last March.

Ms. Krejcíková, the 2021 French Open queen and eight-time WTA Tour winner, was also at Eastbourne but withdrew in the quarterfinals due to a thigh injury.

The 29-year-old Czech insists she’s good to go.

“I’ve been feeling a little bit better every day. So I’m really happy with that,” said Ms. Krejcíková, who earlier missed the first five months of 2025 due to back issues.

“And I hope by Tuesday, everything’s going to be fine and I hope I’m going to have a nice match and a great tournament.”

Ms. Krejcíková is thrilled to face the young gun from the Philippines.

“To be honest, I don’t really know that much about her yet because she’s obviously a young and upcoming player. But I saw some rallies. I saw some matches. I know that she was doing quite well in the first half of the year so I’m looking forward,” she said.

“It’s going to be, I think, a great matchup and I’m looking forward to play against her and to see where the young generation is.” — Olmin Leyba